:
March 7, 2023
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
City of Long Beach
California
RECOMMENDATION:
To continue the local emergency caused by conditions or threatened conditions of homelessness within the City of Long Beach, which if not corrected, constitute an imminent and proximate threat to the safety of persons and property within the City, and; Receive and file an update on the emergency declaration and associated activities and provide any additional direction to City staff regarding the emergency. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
The City of Long Beach (City) has designated significant resources to address homelessness in Long Beach. Since 2020, more than 530 new interim housing units have been developed.
The City opened the first year-round Atlantic Bridge Community Shelter, secured three hotels along with the County of Los Angeles (County) , and recently purchased the 78 -bed Luxury Inn and more than 30 modular shelter units. The City also implemented three Restorative Engagement to Achieve Collective Health (REACH) teams, increased the number of outreach staff and call takers from 4 to 27, expanded hours for weekend outreach, b egan conducting localized interdepartmental response, partnered to provide mobile health care services, and doubled Police Department Quality of Life teams. In 2023, the City has implemented mobile Multi-Service Center (MSC) outreach teams, will launch a mobile mental health and substance use treatment van, and will continue to focus on mental health prevention and treatment access.
The City continues to have approximately 3,300 people experiencing homelessness throughout Long Beach, which is a 77 percent increase since 2017 and a 62 percent increase from 2020 to 2022. Of these 3,300 people, approximately 2,300 are unsheltered. The City and local community-based organizations provide approximately 1,300 interim shelter beds, and most of these shelters are operating at capacity, leaving few options for those currently without shelter.
Declaration of the Emergency
On January 10, 2023, the City Council proclaimed the local emergency, in accordance with the provisions of Long Beach Municipal Code Chapter 2.69. This item will be reviewed every Office of the City Manager
411 West Ocean Boulevard, 10th Floor Long Beach, CA 90802 (562) 570-6711
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HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 7, 2023
fourteen (14) days until the City Council terminates said local emer gency or amends requirements for reporting frequency. A local emergency must be terminated at the earliest possible date as the conditions warrant.
Action Taken in the Past Two Weeks
Over the past two weeks, the City emergency structure has continued and below is a summary of the major items worked on. Supporting information is included in Attachment A. • Attended a community meeting to discuss the proposed second Winter Shelter at Silverado Park. After receiving community input, it has been decided t o explore alternative solutions to address the homelessness crisis, and City staff has committed to community engagement prior to proceeding with any future plans. • Coordinated set-up of 60 warming beds at MSC to offer shelter during inclement weather at night from February 26 to March 5 with potential for limited extension if night -time temperatures remain cold.
• Hosted a public forum with Mayor to encourage housing providers to lease up with people assisted through the Housing Voucher and Emergency Housing Voucher programs. Approximately 50 owners/property managers attended. • Held the sixth livestream update with Mayor Richardson , Public Works Director Eric Lopez, and Parks, Recreation and Marin e Director Brent Dennis ; and, the seventh livestream update with Mayor Richardson and Homeless Outreach team member Joel Reynoza.
• Launched applications for Visual Improvement Program (VIP) Grant. • Convened a summit with legislative delegation office staff and local partners, where staff provided updates on the City’s homeless services, outreach, and advocacy priorities. • Met with LA Voice on February 21 ,2023 to discuss faith -based collaboration opportunities.
• Participated in a meeting with the Gateway Cities Mayors and City Managers to discuss efforts to prevent and address homelessness throughout the region. • Met with County Chair Hahn and CEO Davenport to discuss the City’s priorities for the homelessness emergency.
• Met with neighboring Continuum of Care ( CoC) Cities—Glendale and Pasadena —to brainstorm a plan that would make Measure H funding more equitable for CoC Cities. • Metro moved to initiate a discussion with Long Beach and county homeless service providers to create a homeless service hub in Long Beach along with the agency’s A Line route.
• Developed potential grants and funding tracker available to entire team.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 7, 2023
• Added Scherer Park Community Center to the list of locations accepting donations for people experiencing homelessness.
• Launched the Community Partnership Interest Form in Spanish, Tagalog, and Khmer to elicit support from community partners in our efforts to address homelessness across Long Beach.
• Finalized the first iteration of the public facing dashboard. • The internal call center at Housing Authority focused on conducting outreach to local housing providers to encourage participation in the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) and Housing Choice Voucher programs received 994 calls sending out 740 emails since February 10, 2023.
• Announced new locations for the Mobile Access Center (MAC) in North and East Long Beach.
• Submitted proposal for the second round of the Encampment Resolution funding.
Question from February 21, 2023
At the last hearing of this item, there was one unanswered question from the dais. Some were answered in person, and the following question has a response below:
• Can the homeless resources listed on the website be listed in the reference in the Go Long Beach app?
o Response: Yes, a banner will be placed atop Go Long Beach with a link to the homelessness page. The verbiage is currently undergoing translation to all of the language access languages before the banner and link are published.
Focus Areas for the Next Two Weeks
Staff will provide an oral report on March 7, 2023, on some of the areas of focus for the next two weeks. Topics will include:
• Launch the text notification system to provide real -time information and connection to service locations such as the daily location of the Mobile Access Center. • Complete design of extensive community outreach and engagement process for homeless services locations and launch engagement efforts. • In partnership with the City team, t he Mayor will begin hosting a series of community round table sessions with every council district represented, to have conversations about how partners can collaborate within the emergency response efforts and support short-term and long-term solutions to addressing homelessness. • Plan an Interfaith conv ening of faith organizations from across Long Beach who are committed to supporting the efforts of not only the emergency response, but ongoing
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 7, 2023
after the emergency has been lifted.
• Plan a drive thru donation drop-off event to support people experiencing homelessness scheduled for Saturday, March 18, 2023.
• Work to identify potential emergency shelter locations as well as locations available for when the winter shelter program ends.
• Perform outreach, announce location of next Safe Parking Program, and begin installation.
• Complete RV Dump Station installation.
• Follow-up with LA County on request to support emergency. • Continue evaluating potential Airport and Port of Long Beach properties that can support additional homeless services, including but not limited to a Safe Parking Site or Safe RV Parking Site.
• Continue evaluating other properties citywide (both public and private) that could be temporarily used or acquired to further support the local emergency. • Continue to conduct enhanced engagement with housing providers to boost participation in Housing Voucher Program.
• Host the first of four virtual information sessions for property owners and landlords to educate them on different aspects of the housing choice voucher process. • Continue identifying partners who will offer after -hours bed availability, mental health support and shelter resources.
• Continue researching all grants with homelessness connection that the City has received in the last several fiscal years, to identify if those grants are viable to pursue again.
• Further development of the emergency response efforts through the nine identified workgroups.
• Continue to staff up the Homeless Services Bureau to address case management and public health nursing needs.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Anita Lakhani and Budget Operations and Development Officer Rhutu Amin Gharib on March 1, 2023.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on March 7 , 2023 , in accordance with the Long Beach Municipal Code requirements for the review of the local emergency. In order to report back every two weeks and to allow time for updates with the actions of the past two weeks, the item
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
March 7, 2023
will generally be released on the Supplemental Agenda with a presentation with the latest information provided to the City Council and community during the meeting.
FISCAL IMPACT
The full fiscal impact is unknown at this time and will be based on the work required and projects implemented to respond to the homelessness crisis. As the Citywide strategy is developed, and funding is identified, staff will return to the City Council with fiscal impacts and requests for appropriation. This recommendation will result in significant staffing impacts beyond the normal budgeted scope of duties and is expected to affect Citywide staffing workload and will cause priorities to shift due to this emergency. There is no local job impact associated with this recommendation.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully submitted,
THOMAS B. MODICA
CITY MANAGER
Attachments: A – Supporting Documentation on Actions Taken in the Past Two Weeks 3/2/23, 4:48 PM City of Long Beach to Conduct Enhanced Engagement with Housing Providers to Boost Participation in Housing Voucher Programs https://longbeach.gov/press-releases/city-of-long-beach-to-conduct-enhanced-engagement-with-housing-providers-to-boost-participation-in-housing-v… 1/2
PRESS RELEASE
City of Long Beach
Public Information Office
411 W. Ocean Blvd,
Long Beach, CA 90802
Press Release # 030123
3/1/2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Long Beach, CA – As part of the City of Long Beach’s mission to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness by increasing housing opportunities, enhancing current initiatives and addressing and improving overall public safety for the entire community, the City’s Housing
Authority will conduct enhanced focused outreach to local housing providers to encourage participation in the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) and Housing Choice Voucher programs. “The City is doing everything it can to ensure that those with Emergency Housing Vouchers are able to find homes,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “We are personally reaching out to property owners to City of Long Beach to Conduct Enhanced Engagement with Housing Providers to Boost Participation in Housing Voucher Programs
Launches New Internal Call Center and Hosts Series of Information Sessions for Housing Providers City of Long Beach Joint Information Center
562.570.NEWS
[email protected]
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▼ ATTACHMENT A
3/2/23, 4:48 PM City of Long Beach to Conduct Enhanced Engagement with Housing Providers to Boost Participation in Housing Voucher Programs https://longbeach.gov/press-releases/city-of-long-beach-to-conduct-enhanced-engagement-with-housing-providers-to-boost-participation-in-housing-v… 2/2 ask them to do their part in solving the homelessness crisis. We hope they’ll answer the call.” The Housing Authority has launched an internal call center where staff will conduct phone outreach to Long Beach housing providers to inform them of the incentives available to them by participating in the housing voucher programs, including monetary incentives for homeowners and other resources. Outreach will also include a public education component on housing income discrimination and provide insight on the impactful difference property owners can make in the effort to decrease homelessness in Long Beach by accepting residents with vouchers.
Additionally, Housing Authority staff are conducting virtual owner information sessions designed to provide landlords with information about subsidized housing rules and regulations, various Housing Authority processes and procedures and to keep property owners updated on the latest news. Information sessions will be held on the days listed below.
Tuesday, March 14, noon to 1 p.m. – New owner info session Wednesday, April 19, 4 to 5 p.m. – Renewing for success Tuesday, May 16, noon to 1 p.m. – Partner portal
Wednesday, June 21, 4 to 5 p.m. – Housing inspections
Housing providers interested in learning more or signing up for an information session may call 562.570.5372, e-mail [email protected] or visit longbeach.gov/haclb. “There are hundreds of people who have been issued vouchers but are still in search of housing,” said Health and Human Services Director Kelly Colopy. “This focused outreach is part of the City’s effort to provide long-term solutions to housing insecurity and homelessness.” The Housing Authority currently provides monetary incentives for EHV participants including:
$2,500 incentive to landlords for each voucher leased.
Security deposit of up to two times the rent.
$2,500 in mitigations funds for damages in excess of the security deposit.
Participating housing providers are also supported through direct support by a dedicated Housing Authority team and communication through its Partners in Housing newsletter.
As part of the 2021 American Rescue Act, the Housing Authority was awarded 582 emergency housing vouchers; to date, 401 participants have found housing. Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV) are available to individuals and families who are at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness; were recently experiencing homelessness or housing instability; or fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking or human trafficking.
For more information on the City’s efforts to reduce homelessness in Long Beach, people may visit longbeach.gov/homelessness and follow @lbhealthdept and @longbeachcity on social media and follow the hashtag #EveryoneHomeLB.
For more news, pictures, videos and announcements of what’s happening in Long Beach, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
3/2/23, 4:47 PM Open Letter to the Community Regarding Silverado Shelter https://longbeach.gov/press-releases/open-letter-to-the-community-regarding-silverado-shelter/ 1/3
PRESS RELEASE
City of Long Beach
Public Information Office
411 W. Ocean Blvd,
Long Beach, CA 90802
Press Release # 022823
2/28/2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 28, 2023
Open Letter to the Community Regarding Silverado Shelter:
As we all see every day, homelessness in our society has reached a crisis stage. While always a concern, prior to the pandemic efforts to address homelessness were going in the right direction.
Homelessness was decreasing with each biannual count, the economy was improving, new strategies were funded, and progress on assisting people experiencing homelessness continued.
The City passed the Everyone Home Plan – a comprehensive approach to addressing our challenges together, and we got to work on implementation.
The pandemic changed everything. Rather than continuing the decline, the City saw a historic 62% increase as more and more people fell into homelessness. Despite adding more than 500 emergency and interim shelter beds during the pandemic, a historic feat and exceeding the goal set in the Everyone Home Plan, the demand continued to exceed the available beds. Housing prices skyrocketed in California, a 42% percent increase in median housing price in Los Angeles County from 2017 to 2023, making housing even more unaffordable. And we soon witnessed the impacts on our streets, in our parks, to our residents, to our businesses.
Addressing the Emergency
Earlier this year the City leapt into action, for the first time treating this as the emergency it is. The City Council ratified an emergency proclamation – over 100 top City staff and leaders were activated to quickly bring solutions. An emergency Winter Shelter was set up in East Long Beach at Community Hospital with 81 beds – which filled to capacity within a week. Outreach efforts with nurses, outreach workers and mental health practitioners increased. The City’s nationally recognized Multi-Service Center (MSC) brought services into the community through a new mobile Open Letter to the Community Regarding Silverado Shelter City of Long Beach Joint Information Center
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3/2/23, 4:47 PM Open Letter to the Community Regarding Silverado Shelter https://longbeach.gov/press-releases/open-letter-to-the-community-regarding-silverado-shelter/ 2/3 access center that starts intake to the MSC and provides direct services, meeting people where they are. We visited hundreds of people with offers of service. We engaged property owners to place more than 400 people with emergency housing vouchers with permanent housing. Yet our shelter remained full. Read more about our efforts over the past 2 months here.
Creating a Second Emergency Shelter
To meet the need, we drew up plans to expand the winter shelter capacity. On February 2, 2023, the City announced that it was planning to open a temporary emergency winter shelter at Silverado Park to nearly double bed capacity after opening its first 2022/23 winter shelter at the old Community Hospital building in December 2022. Silverado was chosen as it is in the City’s long- standing emergency shelter plan. Long Beach has three gyms identified as shelter opportunities in the event of a disaster, such as earthquakes, fires, or any other emergency. Of those, Silverado has the best facilities – it has a large gym, the most capacity, a community center where other programs can continue while the gym is in use, and showering facilities at the adjacent pool. We created plans to offset any anticipated impacts, allowing community programs to continue, make improvements to the park after the shelter closed, creating a self-contained design with shuttle access, and a plan to move open-gym hours to a local school gym.
Building Community Partnership
The City has a strong history of outreaching to communities when setting up permanent shelters, but less so for temporary shelters. In this case, because of the need for additional beds during the cold weather, we were hyper focused on the task at hand – quickly supporting people experiencing homelessness in an emergency through a temporary solution. We acknowledge we did not pause to consider other possible implications including the fear and misperceptions of people experiencing homelessness. We missed our community’s voices and concerns. For permanent sheltering/interim housing opportunities in the past, we worked closely with community members. When we opened our first year-round shelter in North Long Beach at the Atlantic Farms Bridge Housing Community shelter, we sat in people’s living rooms to dispel myths, answered questions, and talked about the long-term impacts. When we converted a hotel in East Long Beach and Downtown to permanent housing, there was time and space to perform significant outreach as those were permanent new additions to the neighborhood. In this case, which was for a temporary 3-month shelter, we acknowledge that that same level of outreach did not occur and it is now clear the community expected it. No matter the circumstances, temporary or permanent, community engagement and input must be acknowledged and incorporated as it is essential to our joint success as we overcome this incredible societal challenge.
Decision to Not Place a Shelter in Silverado Park
Today, we are announcing that there will not be a temporary emergency winter shelter at Silverado Park. After hearing from the surrounding community, it was evident that converting a programmed community asset such as the gym in an area that does not have a lot of green space would result in significant loss of access of a community asset, even temporarily.
Thank You to Councilmember Uranga
We want to thank Councilmember Uranga for his constant support of those who are most in need, and for helping to both recognize the needs of the emergency and the impacts these tough decisions have on the community, and helping us better navigate outreach models and community consensus building in the future.
3/2/23, 4:47 PM Open Letter to the Community Regarding Silverado Shelter https://longbeach.gov/press-releases/open-letter-to-the-community-regarding-silverado-shelter/ 3/3 The Crisis Continues
However, the immediate need still exists and the City of Long Beach is still in an emergency state related to homelessness as proclaimed on January 10, 2023. Just this past Friday, a person experiencing homelessness passed away due to exposure. We must do more to prevent more of the same during the stormy weeks ahead. Due to the extreme cold and other weather conditions, the City temporarily activated its Multi-Service Center as a place where 60 people can rest overnight in a warm place. Beds will be available through at least Sunday, March 5, but this cannot be a long-term solution given the growth in demand for MSC daily services as well. We must continue to move ahead with urgency on additional shelter solutions.
Next Steps
The City will continue to work on a path forward to add more temporary and permanent shelter beds to get closer to meeting the needs of our community who are unhoused. We will do this in a more collaborative way with our community leaders and key stakeholders. We will continue to maintain our focus, while collaborating with the community on approach. Throughout this week, the Mayor will help convene various community members and stakeholders across the City to generate solutions and consensus on how we, together as a community, can help people right now with their journey back into housing and supportive services. We will continue to look at plans to bring additional temporary bed space to our community so our homelessness response can continue. Though we will continue to move quickly, because the times call for it, we are also committed to make sure community leaders and stakeholders are part of the conversation and solution, as it is going to take everyone to help uplift people back into stability and ultimately permanent housing.
For more information on the City’s efforts to reduce homelessness in Long Beach, people may visit longbeach.gov/homelessness and follow @lbhealthdept and @longbeachcity on social media and follow the hashtag #EveryoneHomeLB.
Signed;
Mayor Rex Richardson
City Manager Tom Modica
For more news, pictures, videos and announcements of what’s happening in Long Beach, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
3/2/23, 4:48 PM Long Beach Launches Donation Drive to Support People Experiencing Homelessness https://longbeach.gov/press-releases/long-beach-launches-donation-drive-to-support-people-experiencing-homelessness/ 1/2
PRESS RELEASE
City of Long Beach
Public Information Office
411 W. Ocean Blvd,
Long Beach, CA 90802
Press Release # 022723
2/27/2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Long Beach, CA – As part of the City of Long Beach’s mission to reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness in Long Beach, the City has launched a donation drive to collect a variety of essential physical items to provide to residents who are unhoused. Community members are encouraged to join the effort by donating items in need. “We have gone ‘all in’ as a City, and now we are encouraging our community to do the same,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “A little bit of kindness goes a long way and this donation drive will provide essential everyday items to residents who are unhoused. I encourage those who are able to contribute to do so.”
Now until further notice, items can be donated at the locations listed below:
All Long Beach Public Library locations during regular operating hours (all Library locations are regularly closed Sundays and Mondays)
Boys and Girls Club of Long Beach (3635 Long Beach Blvd.), Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Scherer Park Community Center, (4654 Pasadena Ave.), Monday through Friday 3 to 6 p.m.
Ideas for donated items that are needed, not typically funded by other sources and appropriate for donation are listed below.
Create a hygiene kit or house-warming gift kit from this Multi-Service Center Amazon Wish List.
Fill a backpack with needed items such as hand warmers, flashlights, battery packs, batteries (usually D batteries), emergency blankets and charging cables which can all be packaged in a backpack.
Long Beach Launches Donation Drive to Support People Experiencing Homelessness City of Long Beach Joint Information Center
562.570.NEWS
[email protected]
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3/2/23, 4:48 PM Long Beach Launches Donation Drive to Support People Experiencing Homelessness https://longbeach.gov/press-releases/long-beach-launches-donation-drive-to-support-people-experiencing-homelessness/ 2/2 Donate pet care kits with things like pet treats, collars, leashes, pet toys or collapsible pet bowls.
Donate gift cards to places like Target, Walmart, McDonalds, Taco Bell, In 'N' Out, Dunkin Donuts and grocery stores (only accepted at the Multi-Service Center).
Drop off S, M, L, XL or XXL sweatpants, shirts, socks and men’s and women’s underwear, beanies, scarves, caps, hoodies, towels or blankets. Gently used items are appreciated, too.
Young people can make a welcome home kit with some of the suggested items above and include a special hand-written motivating message to go in the kit. It’s a meaningful way to get youth involved in helping the community.
Donate food items like canned food, bottled drinks like juices or water, snacks such as granola bars or power bars, instant oatmeal and instant soup. Perishable, unwrapped and homemade food items will not be accepted.
Items can also be dropped-off at the Multi-Service Center upon request. Call the Multi-Service Center at 562.570.4586 to set up a time to drop off. To learn about more ways to get involved, click here.
The City does not represent or warrant that any donations made to the City are tax deductible.
Donors are encouraged to work with their tax professional. Receipts of donations are available at all drop off locations.
For more information on the City’s efforts to reduce homelessness in Long Beach, people may visit longbeach.gov/homelessness and follow @lbhealthdept and @longbeachcity on social media and follow the hashtag #EveryoneHomeLB.
For more news, pictures, videos and announcements of what’s happening in Long Beach, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
3/2/23, 4:48 PM Multi-Service Center Will Set up 60 Warming Beds February 26 through March 5 https://longbeach.gov/press-releases/multi-service-center-will-set-up-60-warming-beds-february-26-through-march-5/ 1/2
PRESS RELEASE
City of Long Beach
Public Information Office
411 W. Ocean Blvd,
Long Beach, CA 90802
Press Release # 022623
2/26/2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Long Beach, CA – As a result of consistently windy, cold and wet weather in Long Beach, the City will set up 60 warming beds beginning today, Feb. 26, through at least Sunday, March 5, for people experiencing homelessness. The beds will be located at the Multi-Service Center (1301 W. 12th St.).
The warming beds will be removed every morning ahead of MSC operations, which begin at 8 a.m. on weekdays.
People will be able to access the warming beds by visiting the MSC at 6 p.m. Beds will be offered on a first come, first served basis to people experiencing homelessness in Long Beach. Earlier today, outreach workers began canvassing people to let them know warming beds would be available. Outreach will continue throughout the week.
The Homeless Services Bureau of the Health and Human Services Department is seeking community groups that can assist with evening meals. People interested should call 562.570.4500 or email [email protected]. This evening, food will be provided by the MSC.
In recent days, Long Beach has experienced extraordinary amounts of rainfall and wind, with temperatures dipping as low as 43 degrees. Severe storms are expected to resume Monday, Feb. 27, with cold overnight temperatures – as chilly as 40 degrees on Wednesday, March 1 – creating a heightened risk of illness or death among people who are unsheltered. This past Friday, Feb. 24, a person experiencing homelessness died due to exposure.
There is a persistent struggle to meet the sheltering needs of Long Beach’s residents who are unhoused, especially during this treacherous winter. An 81-bed emergency shelter was stood up at Community Hospital on Dec. 19, 2022, and has been consistently full since opening.
Multi-Service Center Will Set up 60 Warming Beds February 26 through March 5 Temperatures as Low as 40, with Overnight Showers, in Forecast City of Long Beach Joint Information Center
562.570.NEWS
[email protected]
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3/2/23, 4:48 PM Multi-Service Center Will Set up 60 Warming Beds February 26 through March 5 https://longbeach.gov/press-releases/multi-service-center-will-set-up-60-warming-beds-february-26-through-march-5/ 2/2 The City is committed to providing shelter beds to its residents who are unhoused, both through municipal shelters and beds provided by its partners. There are approximately 1,300 beds across Long Beach provided by the City and its partners. Between 2020 and 2022, the City and LA County added 530 interim housing beds in Long Beach through emergency shelter, Project Homekey and Project Roomkey. Since then, due to a reduction in available funding for Project Roomkey and the transition of two Project Homekey sites into permanent supportive housing, interim housing beds currently average around 300 operated by the City and L.A. County, with an additional 120 beds expected to be added by the City within the next year.
On Jan. 10, 2023, homelessness was proclaimed an emergency in Long Beach. The emergency allows for increased ability to hire or contract critical roles and recruit qualified candidates; more quickly engage needed services, material and labor; speed up large-scale construction projects such as motel conversions and tiny homes; and work through zoning requirements that currently exclude certain uses of existing properties.
For more information on the City’s efforts to reduce homelessness in Long Beach, people may visit longbeach.gov/homelessness and follow @lbhealthdept and @longbeachcity on social media and follow the hashtag #EveryoneHomeLB.
For more news, pictures, videos and announcements of what’s happening in Long Beach, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
3/2/23, 4:48 PM City Launches Applications for Visual Improvement Program Grant https://longbeach.gov/press-releases/city-launches-applications-for-visual-improvement-program-grant/ 1/2
PRESS RELEASE
City of Long Beach
Public Information Office
411 W. Ocean Blvd,
Long Beach, CA 90802
Press Release # 022223
2/22/2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Long Beach, CA – Today the City of Long Beach released the application for the Visual Improvement Program (VIP) Grant, which will support local businesses impacted by crime and vandalism on or after October 1, 2022. Eligible businesses can receive $1,500 to cover storefront repairs, boarding costs, insurance deductibles and business operating expenses.
The City previously announced the VIP Grant as part of the City’s effort to ease the burden of property crimes and vandalism for small businesses throughout the city. The City is prioritizing the equitable implementation of the program, ensuring that funding reaches underserved areas by focusing outreach in low-moderate income areas and reserving a minimum of 50% of awards for businesses owned by people of color or located in a low-moderate income area.
Businesses and nonprofits should apply if they meet the following criteria:
Must be able to prove that damages were sustained on or after Oct. 1, 2022 Must have a business storefront
Must be located and operating within the boundaries of Long Beach, California (address cannot be a P.O. Box or an address that leads to a shipping center as their physical location) May be a private for-profit business, including sole proprietorships, or nonprofit organization
Must have a City of Long Beach business license
Must be independently owned and operated business (not publicly traded) Must have fewer than 200 employees
Must gross no more than $2 million annually
Corporations, limited liability companies and limited partnerships must have an active status with the California Secretary of State
City Launches Applications for Visual Improvement Program Grant City of Long Beach Joint Information Center
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3/2/23, 4:48 PM City Launches Applications for Visual Improvement Program Grant https://longbeach.gov/press-releases/city-launches-applications-for-visual-improvement-program-grant/ 2/2 Applications are now open and will remain open until funding is exhausted. Grant awards will be issued on a rolling basis to eligible applicants. More program details, including eligibility requirements and submission instructions, are available on longbeach.gov/smallbizgrants.
As part of the City’s ongoing efforts to provide application assistance for Recovery-related programs, Economic Development’s BizCare Program will offer free assistance for the VIP Grant.
Free application assistance is available by phone at 562.570.4249 or email [email protected]. In- person assistance is also available at BizCare Pop-Ups, find the latest schedule at www.longbeach.gov/bizcare.
This program is made possible by the Long Beach Recovery Act, a plan to fund economic and public health initiatives for residents, workers and businesses critically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional information about the Recovery Act is available at longbeach.gov/recovery.
For more information on the City’s efforts to reduce homelessness in Long Beach, people may visit longbeach.gov/homelessness and follow @lbhealthdept and @longbeachcity on social media and follow the hashtag #EveryoneHomeLB.
Media inquiries may be directed to the City of Long Beach Joint Information Center at 562.570.NEWS or [email protected].
For more news, pictures, videos and announcements of what’s happening in Long Beach, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
3/2/23, 4:48 PM City of Long Beach Awards Negotiating Rights for New Affordable Housing Development https://longbeach.gov/press-releases/city-of-long-beach-awards-negotiating-rightsfor-new-affordable-housing-development/ 1/4
PRESS RELEASE
City of Long Beach
Public Information Office
411 W. Ocean Blvd,
Long Beach, CA 90802
Press Release # 022123-3
2/21/2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
City of Long Beach Awards Negotiating Rights for New Affordable Housing Development Habitat for Humanity Gets OK to Build Townhomes for First-Time, Low-Income Buyers Rick de la Torre
562.570.7174
[email protected]
Community Information Officer
Development Services Department
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3/2/23, 4:48 PM City of Long Beach Awards Negotiating Rights for New Affordable Housing Development https://longbeach.gov/press-releases/city-of-long-beach-awards-negotiating-rightsfor-new-affordable-housing-development/ 2/4 Long Beach, CA – The City of Long Beach, through its nonprofit affiliate The Long Beach Community Investment Company (LBCIC), on Feb. 15 awarded exclusive negotiating rights to a local developer for the construction of new townhomes in the Washington Neighborhood. “I’m thrilled that this property will soon serve the community as much-needed housing,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “Providing opportunities like this for homeownership is so important and can be such a worthwhile way to uplift our residents and set them on the path to generational stability.”
Facilitated by the Long Beach Development Services Department, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles (Habitat LA) was awarded the exclusive negotiating rights for the purchase and development of the site located at 225-227 E. 15th Street and 1510 Palmer Ct. “We continue to welcome the opportunity for development partners like Habitat LA to bring housing to the Downtown area,” said First District Councilwoman Mary Zendejas. “This project will be a valuable asset to the community and no doubt will be greatly appreciated by those low- income, first-time homebuyers who will soon call this project their home.” Habitat LA plans to build on the site eight two-story townhomes that will be sold to low-income, first-time homebuyers. The homes will consist of three- and four-bedroom floor plans, two-car garages and private yards. The homes will be constructed using green technology and will include drought-tolerant landscaping. The project is expected to break ground in early 2024. 3/2/23, 4:48 PM City of Long Beach Awards Negotiating Rights for New Affordable Housing Development https://longbeach.gov/press-releases/city-of-long-beach-awards-negotiating-rightsfor-new-affordable-housing-development/ 3/4 “Providing affordable homeownership opportunities for Long Beach families is vitally important and The LBCIC is proud to support investments such as this,” said The LBCIC Chair Mary Castro. “We continue to appreciate the efforts that a long-time city partner like Habitat LA makes to invest in the Long Beach community.”
Habitat LA continues its progression of building homes and making homeownership accessible for local first-time, income-qualified buyers. Last month, Habitat LA was awarded negotiating rights for a new affordable townhome project in North Long Beach. And in November 2022, the City joined Habitat LA to celebrate the completion of Millennium Homes, a development that features 10 two- story townhomes in Midtown.
“Habitat continues to do a wonderful job of turning dreams of homeownership into reality and we are happy to again partner with them on an important project,” said Development Services Director Christopher Koontz. “Habitat has made a special overall investment and commitment to the Washington Neighborhood and I am proud of the City’s contribution to that effort.” The Habitat homes will be sold using affordable loans and down payment assistance through Habitat’s unique homeownership model.
“Habitat LA has a strong 30-year relationship with the City of Long Beach and The LBCIC and is looking forward to continuing it with this new development,” said Habitat LA President and CEO Erin Rank. “Along with two other projects in the city, Habitat LA will soon have 52 new homes in Long Beach for sale to first-time homebuyers.”
In January 2023, the Long Beach City Council adopted the proclamation of a local homelessness emergency to strengthen the City’s preparedness and ability to respond to homelessness, including moving quickly and efficiently to expand housing and services. As part of this declaration, a dedicated work group has been assigned to focus on increasing housing opportunities, both permanent and temporary, that provide greater access for people experiencing and at risk of homelessness.
For more information on the City’s affordable housing and assistance programs, the community can visit longbeach.gov/lbds.
About Long Beach Development Services
Serving residents, businesses and the community at large, the award-winning Long Beach Development Services Department sets a standard for high-quality, innovative urban planning and livability efforts that create more progressive and sustainable communities within the diverse City of Long Beach, CA. Through a variety of development, code enforcement, housing and neighborhood services and building activities, the Department builds a better future for the city while also honoring its unique past. For more information, visit longbeach.gov/lbds. Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
3/2/23, 4:48 PM City of Long Beach Awards Negotiating Rights for New Affordable Housing Development https://longbeach.gov/press-releases/city-of-long-beach-awards-negotiating-rightsfor-new-affordable-housing-development/ 4/4 For more news, pictures, videos and announcements of what’s happening in Long Beach, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.